With $25K donation, GNCU is first corporate sponsor of Audacity Fund Reno

RENO, Nev. — Greater Nevada Credit Union announced this month it is contributing $25,000 as the first corporate sponsor of Audacity Fund Reno, which provides funding, education and support to local business owners from underserved populations.

According to a Nov. 23 press release, the GNCU contribution kickstarted the fund’s $2 million capital campaign to invest appropriate capital in main street and tech companies with underrepresented founders.

“Greater Nevada Credit Union is driven by our passion to help Nevadans and Nevada’s businesses live greater,” Wally Murray, president and CEO of Greater Nevada Credit Union, said in a statement. “Like many credit unions across America, Greater Nevada was formed more than 70 years ago by a small group of people who felt underrepresented and cut off from sources of capital. That’s one reason we’re ecstatic to assist with the Audacity Fund Reno to provide a new source of support for businesses that are the backbone of our vibrant community.”

The Audacity Fund Reno is a field-of-interest fund at the nonprofit Community Foundation of Western Nevada.

All contributions to the fund support local businesses founded by women, minorities, LBGTQ+, people with disabilities, veterans and other underrepresented groups.

“In administering the city of Reno small business relief fund for minority- and women-owned businesses, requests for financial assistance were seven times the $1 million allocated,” Danielle Rees, managing partner of the Audacity Institute, a Renoa-based organization focused on supporting diverse entrepreneurs, said in a statement. “With COVID cases on the rise locally, the need to support our small businesses is greater than ever. Investing in local and inclusive businesses provides a solid return on investment. Every $10,000 invested in a local women or minority-owned business results in an annual local economic impact of $90,000.”

The Audacity Institute will provide group education and individual mentoring to the cohort of companies selected to receive funding.

Education topics are tailored for the stage and type of company ranging from topics such as business structures, licenses and permits; to finance and accounting; to market research and sales; to operational adaptation of business practices; to long-term funding strategies.

“I am beyond thrilled to support the Audacity Fund and Greater Nevada Credit Union,” Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve, who’s also owner of local businesses Clothes Mentor and Plato’s Closet, said in a statement. “These community partners are showing once again that when Reno works together, we can thrive. The focus on boosting women and minority-owned companies shouldn’t stop even in the middle of the pandemic. Our businesses continue to suffer but lifelines like this can help workers and owners across our region. The work goes on and we can do this together.”

Applications for funding from the Audacity Fund will open as soon as the first $250,000 is raised.